“I think he showed traits of a young player who is competing at this level for the first time,” said Clark. “They have ups and downs.

“And that has been the story of our season, because of the group that we have in general.

“They are an unbelievably honest bunch.

“ When we talk about the games, they are very honest. When me and my staff put sessions on, they do it to the letter.

“They are trying their very best. As young players who haven’t played at this level regularly, or don’t have a great deal of experience of it, it has proved to be a problem for us.

“That was capped last week. We had a terrific performance and result at Millwall, the same group of players start the Bournemouth game so well, we concede a goal and then 14 minutes later we are three-nil down and we sort of lose all confidence.

“And that, for me, encapsulated the season as a whole. The consistency of the group.

“But, as I said, they have been brilliant in terms of their attitude and application.

“They do hurt, we all hurt. They are fighting every day, they are trying to rectify this situation we are in as soon as possible and I believe they will.”